A Birding Blast From the Past

/ Seth Inman / 2 Comments

Blue-crowned Motmot at Xandari

Trending on the web nowadays is the tagline “throwback Thursday,” or #tbt, used to recall old photos or experiences with an interesting or humorous sense of nostalgia. As James and I spend most early mornings going out around Xandari to explore the trails and document the avifauna we can find, I am reminded of similar excursions I made with my friend and fellow Tomás de Berlanga English teacher Mari, in Mindo, Ecuador.

About two years ago on the dot, Mari and I saw an amazing group of birds in one of Costa Rica’s great competitors in terms of birding hotspots. As you can see from my first post about manakins, two years ago I did not consider myself a birder — now, as James and I add our observations around Xandari to eBird every day, my opinion may have changed slightly Continue reading →

Common Mormon Butterfly

/ Salim.E.I / 2 Comments
Photo credit : Faisal

Photo credit: Faisal

The Common Mormon Butterfly is seen throughout the year in Kerala. The male butterfly is black with a band of large whitish yellow spots running across the lower portion of the wing. The female may have a rose color, but always has an entirely black abdomen. The male butterfly is frequently spotted near patches of standing water or mud puddles.

Funky Nests, Oh My!

/ James Zainaldin / 5 Comments

 

Wren leaving her basket nest

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology is hosting a “Funky Nests” contest for their Celebrate Urban Birds project. The above image is of a wren nest in a basket in my backyard (Atlanta, GA). Continue reading →

Salt of the Earth

/ Organikos / 1 Comment

 

Sisyphus-retouched-HD-pre-LA

Salt is a quiet seasoning, making its culinary point by bringing out the best in the dish it’s been added to. The crystaline mineral is so ubiquotus that we often don’t consider its vast history in the forging (and funding) of empires. Neither do we think about the labor it takes to bring it forth from the earth and water around the world.

Indian film maker Farida Pacha has the perfectionist sensibility to share the story of the families who return to the saline desert of Gujarat’s Little Rann of Kutch to laboriously extract the salt from the desolate landscape. This seasonal migration has been going on for generations and the work is a matter of pride more than economy.

Director’s Notes: This is not a social issue film, even though the story of the salt people and their exploitation is a shocking one. What attracts me is the more fundamentally tragic question at the heart of their existence: what compels them to return to the desert to labor tediously year after year, generation after generation? What meaning do they find in this existence? Continue reading →

Periyar Tiger Reserve – Thekkady

/ Salim.E.I / 6 Comments
Photo credits : Unni P

Photo credit: Unni P.

Periyar Tiger Reserve in Thekkady is one of  27 tiger reserves in India. The reserve’s diverse environment includes tropical evergreen and moist deciduous forests, grass lands and lakes. Although Periyar is a tiger reserve, there are many more animals than just tigers to be seen in the region: elephants, bison, Sambar deer, leopards, and wild boars also share the grounds. Continue reading →

Xandari Insects

/ Seth Inman / 3 Comments

We have a history of interest in entomology here, and in the past couple days alone I’ve spotted insects in a couple different families that are worth checking out below!

An ochraceous hemipteran (true bug)
Unknown species
Unknown species
Butterfly in Heliconius (Nymphalidae) family
Unidentified winged insect
Beetle most likely in the genus Calligrapha

Continue reading →

World’s Largest Ocean Sanctuary, Maybe

/ Organikos / 6 Comments

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Thanks to the CS Monitor for this welcome news:

Obama seeks to create world’s largest marine sanctuary

With the aim of protecting marine wildlife, President Obama is considering greatly expanding the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument, an ocean preserve that lies between Hawaii and Samoa.

President Barack Obama is looking to create the largest marine preserve in the world by protecting a massive stretch of the Pacific Ocean from drilling, fishing and other actions that could threaten wildlife, the White House said.

Aiming to protect marine wildlife, Obama will also direct the government to create a program to deter illegal fishing. The executive steps come as Obama is searching for ways to leave his second-term mark on the environment despite opposition from many Republicans in Congress.

Obama was to announce the steps Tuesday in a video message to those participating in an “Our Ocean” conference that the State Department and Secretary of State John Kerry are hosting. Continue reading →

Coffee in the Ground at Xandari

/ James Zainaldin / 10 Comments

Screen Shot 2022-07-22 at 9.49.50 AM

Coffee ready to be planted, next to its hole

On Monday, we began planting coffee and made great headway on getting the shrubs in the ground. Fortunately, José Luis, Xandari’s head gardener, and his team (or should we say “coffee crew” in this case?) had already done significant work in preparing the soil to receive the plants. Continue reading →

Chenda

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Photo credits : Shymon

Photo credits: Shymon

The Chenda is a musical instrument commonly used in Kerala. This two-sided drum is famous for its rigid and  loud sound. The Chenda melam is  an integral part of all Kerala festivals, mainly played in Hindu temples. It is also the percussion choice for almost all Kerala’s classical art forms such as Kathakali, Panchavadyam, and Theyyam. The cylindrical wooden drum has stretched animal skin on both the sides that the drummers play using two sticks.

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Via Kerala = Kerala

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Via Kerala uses Malayalam as a motif to bridge the gap between the traditional and the contemporary

Via Kerala uses Malayalam as a motif to bridge the gap between the traditional and the contemporary

Our friends at Thought Factory and Via Kerala are important members of our collaborative tribe, so of course we were thrilled to read this article highlighting their efforts. We manage their flagship store in Thekkady at Cardamom County, and the new RAXA Shop at Spice Harbour also showcases some of their iconic products.

Malayalam alphabet and the Malayali’s personality have some things in common. Just as the rounded letters, we, as a people, are not aggressive and have rounded personalities. We are a bit complicated, too. Theresa J. George uses Malayalam typography as a metaphor for our culture and the very essence of being Malayali.

Her company Via Kerala uses Malayalam as a motif to bridge the gap between the traditional and the contemporary. “We are proud of our roots, yet there is a slight disconnect between it and the younger generation,” she says. Continue reading →

Growing Fruit and Vegetables at Xandari

/ Seth Inman / 3 Comments

The view from the path right before reception

Much of the fresh, rich compost that Xandari produces from all sorts of organic material is used as the perfect substrate to grow delicious fruits and vegetables on property, both in greenhouses and out in the open. During our tour a few days ago with José Luis, James and I saw dozens of tomatoes (three different varieties), lots of lettuce, citrus and other tropical fruits, green beans, and much more.

Continue reading →

Snake Charmer

/ Salim.E.I / 2 Comments
Photo credit : Jithin

Photo credit: Jithin

Snake charmers can manipulate trained snakes by playing the instrument called pungi from Indian folk music. This practice originated in India and lives on today in street performances. The snake charmers lure the snakes from bamboo baskets with their pungi while tourists and residents alike pass by.

 

Citizen Science in Belize – Update on Lionfish Jewelry: Part 1

/ Phil Karp / 22 Comments

Freshly dried lionfish fins and tails. Photo: Polly Alford, ReefCI

I’ve written in previous posts about the initiative to develop a market for lionfish jewelry as one of a number of commercially sustainable approaches to fighting this invasive species that is threatening marine ecosystems throughout the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Southern Atlantic seaboard of the United States. In my last post, I mentioned that the idea is beginning to take off in Belize.  I was able to observe this first-hand last month, spending two and a half weeks in the country.  During my stay I had the opportunity to meet local artists who are making lionfish jewelry and to participate in several workshops to share techniques and designs.  Continue reading →

Flavours Of Kerala – Parippuvada

/ Salim.E.I / 1 Comment
Photo credits : Shymon

Photo credits : Shymon

Parippuvada is a popular evening tea-time snack in Kerala. Spicy and crispy, the dish is often made from chana dal, green chili, curry leaves, ginger, onion and salt. After the ingredients are ground, the mix is rolled into small patties and deep fried. Continue reading →